China has revised the length of its hastily announced no-fly zone north of Taiwan from 3 days to just 27 minutes, lowering tensions in the region. Chinese authorities had originally informed their Taiwanese counterparts on Tuesday that a no-fly zone would be imposed during April 16-18 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. China claimed this was done for the purpose of "conducting aerospace activities."
The short notice and unusual circumstances caused alarm in the region given China’s recent military exercises around Taiwan. It also would have impacted commercial flight routes, causing delays and cancellations. The shortened time frame creates a significantly smaller disruption to commercial flights, from 160 affected flights to just 33. Taiwan authorities have said they believe the no-fly zone is due to the potential for falling debris from a rocket launch, perhaps for a satellite.
According to Transportation Minister Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) the restricted area about 85 nautical miles north of Taiwan also applies to the sea, affecting shipping routes. However, he said that most flights will likely only experience a delay due to a longer flight path, and he is not currently aware of any flight cancellations.